As this is now a rebuild project it deserves a thread in here.
Older members here may remember some happy-go-lucky tw@t with a mildly fettled 1.8 Focus which he'd done a few bits to.
https://passionford.com/forum/pictur...ord-focus.html
Well the car has been laid up on axle stands pretty much since I put that thread up but, as I'm out of the RAF in 6 months and I will lose access to the building it's currently in when I leave, it's time to get my arse in gear.
Apologies for the cut/paste to begin with but I really can't be @rsed typing this all out again.
Blah blah blah........
.........She went up onto sticks in late 2007 and has never really been down since.
The 1.8 engine has been removed, the complete front end stripped entirely and the rear subframe has been dropped.
Bearing in mind the shell has 103,000 miles on her she has a bit of surface rust underneath, thankfully nothing a wire wheel couldn't remove and i've used Hammerite satin black in the wheel arches and engine bay then liberally coated the whole lot in a corrosion prevention compound i've borrowed from work (I work on Spitfires, Hurricanes and a Lancaster bomber at work - if it's good enough for those.....)
Thankfully in all this time, as well as doing some work on the main shell, i have acquired a few tasty bits which are all going to be fitted in due course. The first area of concern being the engine - i was never going to refit the original 1.8 so it was all about speccing a 2.0 litre. Originally, as i already had a set of lairy Piper cams, i was just going to bung a set of throttle bodies on and rev it as high as possible (circa 8.5 to 9k) with a strengthened, balanced ST170 bottom end - but the opportunity came up to purchase a very special bit of kit instead which dramatically changed the direction of my build.
So instead of going high revving NA, i'm now going forced induction. The Powerworks charger has been modified to allow the fitment of nitrous directly into the inlet ports and the manifold has been machined to increase the flow rate by around 40% over standard. It also comes with the smaller pulley 'big boost' upgrade and an upgraded Mustang V8 throttle body. The engine the 'charger came from was a standard ST170 engine but running 310bhp - hopefully it might make a little more than that now.
To go with the supercharger i plan to run Piper 285 cams with a vernier exhaust pulley, i will keep the VCT which will be fully mapped to work as intended (most people run it on aftermarket management like VTEC which changes over at a set revpoint, this doesn't get the best from the system) and i am having the entire rotating bottom end dynamically balanced to ensure smooth revving and minimal vibrations/harmonics at high revs (aiming for 7.5 - 8k redline) with coil on plug ignition to ensure constant string sparking. I'll be putting the power through an uprated Focus RS AP Racing clutch through a MTX-75 gearbox fitted with a Focus RS Quaife ATB diff and a Hewland Engineering short ratio, straight cut final drive kit.
Other parts to be fitted around the car include a Focus RS tailgate and spoiler, freeing up my original one, with WRC spoiler, to be used on my race/track car, a fully pollybushed rear subframe with Eibach camber adjustment bolts, a full Ford Collection kit front, rear and sides, genuine Ford Xenon headlights (I've acquired 2 sets of these somehow so may spray one set inside), Focus RS interior, completely refurbished ST170 brake setup (2 off) i've got a cruise control kit laying around i will try and adapt to fit and several choices of alloys.
Comments or thoughts are most welcome. You don't see many people doing serious work with the Mk1 Focus anymore. I've definitely kept my hand in though, I also have a 2.0 litre ESP track/sprinting car which i'll do a seperate thread about with plenty of photos/video. A lot of the parts for that car have come from this one as it's been sat around and some parts will potentially get used on both cars.
blah blah blah.........
Not a massive update but got a bit of work done today.
I've been told that my parts I ordered are almost ready for me, so I thought I would do a bit of preliminary work ready for their arrival.
I'm currently awaiting delivery of.
Focus RS uprated AP Racing clutch
Link G4+ Storm ECU and wiring loom
In-tank uprated fuel pump
Siemens 550cc fuel injectors
Will Pedley Racing engine block oil breather
AEM Wideband Lambda sensor and guage
Once the uprated clutch has arrived it's time to get my engine block and all the internals off for machining/balancing/lightening to make sure everything's going to be spot on ready for an 8,000+ RPM rev limit!
So I've made a start cleaning up the engine block before it goes away (I'm in 2 minds whether or not to paint it before it goes or wait until it comes back) and I've turned my attention to the gearbox. I'm going to be using the 5 speed MTX-75 box normally found in the 2.0 litres and I have a Quaife ATB diff and a Hewland Engineering straight-cut short-ratio final drive kit ready to be installed into a 'box. I happened to have a 'box laying around so thought I would open it up for a look inside. Changing the diff actually wouldn't prove to be that difficult but, because of the straight cut final drive kit, the job will go to a garage/gearbox specialist as I'm not in a position to be removing/refitting gears and bearings.
It's come out alright for a first go but will need more work and more abrasive action.
I'm undecided on colour for the block...............
Gearbox ready to split
Bellhousing removed
Quaife diff + Hewland final drive kit
Straight cut awesomeness
Despite this gearbox having 130k miles on it it seems in very good condition inside, that said I remember it being a bit difficult to engage gears when it was cold so I suspect the synchros may be past their best, if all the gears are coming off to fit the final drive kit then it should be easy enough to get everything refreshed while it's apart. I've also been reminded how much I HATE gearbox oil, the stuff absolutely stinks and you can't just wipe it off your hands either!!!